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Stephen O'Rahilly

@stephenorahilly.bsky.social
1K followers 63 following 74 posts

Endocrinologist. Physican scientist. Director of MRC Metabolic Diseases Unit, University of Cambridge. Expressing my own opinions here, not my employers

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Stephen O'Rahilly @stephenorahilly.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
www.officeforstudents.org.uk/news-blog-an.... On visiting the USA last week several academic colleagues had got the impression that the UK was becoming increasingly illiberal. I would like to point them to this speech by arif ahmed which illustrates the UKs firm commitment to Academic freedom
officeforstudents.org.uk
Freedom of speech and academic freedom: driving change through the sector - Office for Students
Transcript of a keynote speech delivered by Arif Ahmed, our Director for Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom, to the Committee for Academic Freedom's Navigating Academic Freedom conference on 15 Oc...
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Stephen O'Rahilly @stephenorahilly.bsky.social · 03/10/2025
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1... Working with our great collaborators at Pfizer we have uncovered a common genetic contributor to metabolic ill health/
medrxiv.org
Genetic impairment of ketone body signalling is a prevalent contributor to human metabolic dysfunction
Emerging evidence that circulating levels of key metabolic intermediates are sensed by a range of G-Protein Coupled receptors (GPCRs) is providing critical new insights into the control of systemic me...
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Stephen O'Rahilly @stephenorahilly.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
nature.com/articles/s44161-025-00712-3 Interesting. But studies of GDF15 on cells used GDF15 made in mammalian cells which is always contaminated by TGFB family members (see PMID: 29161287) some of which are active at fmolar concs. Yeast or bacterially derived is fine. Qkine is good source
nature.com
Cardiac adaptation to endurance exercise training requires suppression of GDF15 via PGC-1α - Nature Cardiovascular Research
Khetarpal et al. show that the metabolic regulator PGC-1α is essential in heart muscle cells for exercise-driven cardiac growth, and that suppression of the stress-induced myokine GDF15 is required to enable cardiomyocyte adaptations to training.
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Stephen O'Rahilly @stephenorahilly.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
Fantastic news. Processes designed to measure Research excellence should focus on whether research done at our universities is reproducible, represents a significant advance in understanding, and/or is actually or potentially useful. The rest is just prattle.
timeshighereducation.com
Patrick Vallance hits pause on Research Excellence Framework
Science minister announces review of controversial changes to research environment assessment
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Daniel Drucker @danieljdrucker.bsky.social · 14/08/2025
The @easdnews.bsky.social Novo Nordisk Foundation Prize #Diabetes
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Daniel Drucker @danieljdrucker.bsky.social · 14/08/2025
Expanding metabolic roles for the GIPR in oligodendrocytes #weightloss www.cell.com/cell-metabol...
cell.com
Glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide receptor signaling in oligodendrocytes increases the weight-loss action of GLP-1R agonism
Hansford et al. show that GIPR, a target of new weight-loss drugs, is found in brain cells called oligodendrocytes. GIPR helps these drugs access the brain and boosts weight loss. Without GIPR in thes...
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Stephen O'Rahilly @stephenorahilly.bsky.social · 10/08/2025
So very sad. Davo was a truly great endocrine scientist.
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Stephen O'Rahilly @stephenorahilly.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
sciencedirect.com/science/arti... Great to see further evidence emerging supporting the pressing need for trials of preconceptional GDF15 desensitisation with metformin for prevention of severe nausea and vomiting of pregnancy in women with a previous history. Congrats to @drfejzo.bsky.social
sciencedirect.com
Pre-pregnancy metformin use associated with lower risk of severe nausea and vomiting of pregnancy and hyperemesis gravidarum
Severe nausea and vomiting of pregnancy and hyperemesis gravidarum are associated with adverse maternal, fetal, and child outcomes. The recurrence ris…
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Stephen O'Rahilly @stephenorahilly.bsky.social · 29/06/2025
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/26/o... Amazing to see this article appear in the NYT. I hope many of my fellow endocrinologists are reading it @endocrinesociety.bsky.social
nytimes.com
Opinion | How the Gay Rights Movement Radicalized, and Lost Its Way
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Stephen O'Rahilly @stephenorahilly.bsky.social · 15/06/2025
OMG. This looks terrifying.
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Stephen O'Rahilly @stephenorahilly.bsky.social · 24/05/2025
Mice lacking this amino acid lost 30% body weight www.nature.com/articles/d41... Am I missing something? Mice engineered to have a specific and severe defect in amino acid metabolism get sick and lose weight. Might the rush to find new weight loss targets be impairing our critical faculties ?
nature.com
Mice lacking this amino acid lost 30% of their body weight
But eliminating cysteine, which is found in high-protein foods, from human diets would be challenging.
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Stephen O'Rahilly @stephenorahilly.bsky.social · 22/05/2025
Had a great time at Lund university attending their Spring Meeting. Amused to see this poster outside the lecture theatre. Those old English universities: it’s hard to tell them apart 😊
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NIHR Biomedical Research Centre: Cambridge @cambridgebrc.bsky.social · 29/04/2025
📢 Job Vacancy! Institute of Metabolic Science @ims-mrl.bsky.social are looking for a Research Nurse to join their team. Applications open until 30th May! >>> For more info: bit.ly/4iIkrNo @cuhnhs.bsky.social @mrcepid.bsky.social @stephenorahilly.bsky.social @cambridgeuni.bsky.social
Graphic of medicines on a blue background
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Stephen O'Rahilly @stephenorahilly.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
Indeed. And so ironic that while the new administration says it is very keen to understand the effects of food on health, their actions are resulting in the closure of one the US’s most effective labs in that area @kevinh-phd.bsky.social
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Stephen O'Rahilly @stephenorahilly.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
www.thefp.com/p/carole-hoo.... While I applaud Harvard for standing up to the Trump government, this article is mandatory reading for anyone who doesn’t understand how it got to this point.
thefp.com
Carole Hooven: Why I Left Harvard
After I stated banal facts about human biology, I found myself caught in a DEI web, without the support to do the job I loved. The only way out was to leave it.
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Stephen O'Rahilly @stephenorahilly.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
UK’s supreme court rules that legal definition of woman is based on biological sex. This is a hugely important decision. Unanimous .I hope it will open up rational debate in other countries.
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Stephen O'Rahilly @stephenorahilly.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
I really enjoyed recording one of these with you several years ago. Wishing you well with whatever your next venture will be.
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Stephen O'Rahilly @stephenorahilly.bsky.social · 29/03/2025
Almut Gadow v Open University genderblog.net/almut-gadow-... This piece is from Nick Wallis, the journalist whose doigged research exposed the Post Office Scandal. He is now taking a serious interest in an area that is increasingly affecting UK universities.Worth a read
genderblog.net
Almut Gadow v Open University
Almut Gadow Dr Almut Gadow has a personality similar to those I’ve stumbled across a lot whilst talking to people about gender ideology. She’s fiercely intelligent, does not back down a…
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Laura Dearden @lauradearden.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
Come and study with us for a Masters!
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Stephen O'Rahilly @stephenorahilly.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
x.com/shahrarali/s...
x.com
Shahrar Ali on X: "Fiery speech @ChrisDaviesLD pulling no punches, calling out impact upon impressionable youth of sex denialism, unfettered social contagion & failure of medical due diligence. Truth will cut through in end, once we've properly dispensed with no debate. https://t.co/SlXvgnn4mx" / X
Fiery speech @ChrisDaviesLD pulling no punches, calling out impact upon impressionable youth of sex denialism, unfettered social contagion & failure of medical due diligence. Truth will cut through in end, once we've properly dispensed with no debate. https://t.co/SlXvgnn4mx
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Stephen O'Rahilly @stephenorahilly.bsky.social · 23/03/2025
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
The Observer view on gender data: failure to accurately record biological sex harms us all | Observer editorial
A report lays bare the extent of real-world detriment caused by institutions that have caved in to activist pressures
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Stephen O'Rahilly @stephenorahilly.bsky.social · 20/03/2025
The absence of data on biological sex is an affront to reality www.thetimes.com/article/7463...
thetimes.com
The absence of data on biological sex is an affront to reality
The 226-page report into how official data on sex and gender is recorded, by Professor Alice Sullivan of University College London, exposes shocking gaps in public records due to confusion between
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Stephen O'Rahilly @stephenorahilly.bsky.social · 20/03/2025
Honoured to be in Baden-Baden to receive the Berthold Medal from the German Endocrine Society and give the abet gold lecture. Really great questions from a wonderfully engaged and responsive audience. Thanks to #JensBruining for his very kind introduction.
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Stephen O'Rahilly @stephenorahilly.bsky.social · 20/03/2025
x.com/sexmattersor...
x.com
Sex Matters on X: "“Everybody, regardless of their politics, needs accurate data.” @ProfAliceS speaks to @JustinOnWeb @BBCr4today about the #SullivanReview 📻 https://t.co/BSR8ls60pP" / X
“Everybody, regardless of their politics, needs accurate data.” @ProfAliceS speaks to @JustinOnWeb @BBCr4today about the #SullivanReview 📻 https://t.co/BSR8ls60pP
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IMS Epidemiology, University of Cambridge @imsepidemiology.bsky.social · 08/03/2025
This International Women's Day, we celebrate as women advocate for change, equity, & inclusivity paving the way for future generations of women scientists Meet Agnes Lukasik, Patient and Public Involvement & Engagement Manager @ims-mrl.bsky.social #IWD2025 #AccelerateAction @mrcepid.bsky.social
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Stephen O'Rahilly @stephenorahilly.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
www.city-journal.org/article/new-... I was shocked when a recent Perspective in @NEJM disregarded the most thorough, unbiased, science-based assessment of the risk/benefits of taking a pharamacological approach to minors asking for help in relation to their biological sex/
city-journal.org
The Corruption of The New England Journal of Medicine
A leading medical journal has capitulated to transgender activists.
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Stephen O'Rahilly @stephenorahilly.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
adiposetissue.org: A knowledge portal integrating clinical and experim... www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... Thanks to the authors for providing a great online tool for the community
adiposetissue.org
AT Knowledge Portal
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Stephen O'Rahilly @stephenorahilly.bsky.social · 18/02/2025
www.nature.com/articles/s41.... Interesting but report of liver autonomous effects of MC3R a bit surprising given the very low expression of MC3R in liver, at least in humans
nature.com
Melanocortin 3 receptor regulates hepatic autophagy and systemic adiposity - Nature Communications
Systemic lipid homeostasis requires hepatic autophagy to recycle intracellular fat. Here, the authors identify peripheral mechanisms regulating energy homeostasis, showing that MC3R is a regulator of ...
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Stephen O'Rahilly @stephenorahilly.bsky.social · 17/02/2025
www.science.org/content/arti... Unless he radically changes his approach, which seems unliely, this could be very bad news for US public health and biomedical science. He is actvely campaiigning againsyt HPV vaccination which is abolishing cervical cancer and mainatining an excellent safety record
science.org
Senate confirms Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine opponent, as health secretary
Controversial attorney will oversee vast health research and drug safety programs
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Stephen O'Rahilly @stephenorahilly.bsky.social · 15/02/2025
see nationally commissioned and extremely rigorous Cass Report ( cass.independent-review.uk/home/publica...)
cass.independent-review.uk
Final Report – Cass Review
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Stephen O'Rahilly @stephenorahilly.bsky.social · 15/02/2025
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.... . States that gender affirming care (incl puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones in minors) is "essential, evidence-based, and often lifesaving". In no other field would the @NEJM advocate for therapies with such a weak evidence base.
nejm.org
Advancing Transgender Health amid Rising Policy Threats | NEJM
The current U.S. political landscape poses escalating challenges for transgender health. Clinicians, researchers, policymakers, and advocates can act to counteract regressive policies.
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Stephen O'Rahilly @stephenorahilly.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/10/h.... Looking chic John! @busediabetes.
nytimes.com
The Physicians Really Are Healing Themselves, With Ozempic
At cardiology conferences and diabetes meetings, doctors can’t help noticing that thin seems to be very in.
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Stephen O'Rahilly @stephenorahilly.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre... Anyone working in the NHS should be aware of how it is treating its female staff. This is in the Observer, a traditonal newspaper of the centre-left, so not a "culture war" piece. Just a sober statemnt of facts.
theguardian.com
No woman should be forced to change her clothes in front of a male colleague | Sonia Sodha
I believe a case brought by an NHS nurse over a shared changing room could be the tip of the iceberg
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Stephen O'Rahilly @stephenorahilly.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
Endothelial insulin resistance induced by adrenomedullin mediates obesity-associated diabetes | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Interesting and novel idea. Worth digging deep into in humans to see if it pans out
science.org
Endothelial insulin resistance induced by adrenomedullin mediates obesity-associated diabetes
Insulin resistance is a hallmark of obesity-associated type 2 diabetes. Insulin’s actions go beyond metabolic cells and also involve blood vessels, where insulin increases capillary blood flow and del...
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Stephen O'Rahilly @stephenorahilly.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
The US biotech and pharma industry leads the world and generates huge income for the US. The large state investment in underpinning science and training is v likely a big factor in creating this favourable environment.
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Stephen O'Rahilly @stephenorahilly.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
Just reeling from doing a back of the envelope calculation. The UK (population 68M) taxpayer (via the government) invests ~£2b pa in biomedical research. The US (pop 350M) taxpayer invests ~£40b Pa. The average US taxpayer invests four times as much as UK. And the US is a “low tax” country. Wow.
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British Society for Neuroendocrinology @bsneuroendo.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
Huge congratulations to former BSN President Giles Yeo, his team and collaborators for this incredible work creating a spacial map of the human hypothalamus - the HypoMap is out!
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Stephen O'Rahilly @stephenorahilly.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
www.nature.com/articles/s41... Great to see independent confirmation of our recent work co-led Sam Lockkhart and Milan Muso PMID: 39322746 reporting that LXR alpha protects against cholesterol toxity in the liver
nature.com
A mutation in LXRα uncovers a role for cholesterol sensing in limiting metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis - Nature Communications
Liver x receptors (LXRs) regulate lipid metabolism in response to changing cholesterol levels. Here, the authors show that inactivation of LXR signaling leads to the rapid development of metabolic dys...
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Stefan Marciniak @profmarciniak.bsky.social · 30/01/2025
Heartbreaking Am so grateful to work in the NHS where care is free at the point of need Nye Bevan was right “Illness is neither an indulgence for which people have to pay, nor an offence for which they should be penalised, but a misfortune the cost of which should be shared by the community”
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Stephen O'Rahilly @stephenorahilly.bsky.social · 30/01/2025
rdcu.be/d717N. Bit weird. C5Orf24 is ubiquitously expressed, has a nuclear localisation signal and no signal peptide./
rdcu.be
A feeding-induced myokine modulates glucose homeostasis
Nature Metabolism - The authors identify feimin as a feeding-induced myokine that regulates glucose homeostasis via the MERTK–AKT signalling axis in mice and humans.
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Stephen O'Rahilly @stephenorahilly.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
Discussing trans on the radio genderblog.net/discussing-t.... Nick Wallis is the tenacious journalist who revealed the Post Office scandal. He has started to write a blog about sex and gender. He will be worth reading. He describes this topic as one of the most important of our age.
genderblog.net
Discussing trans on the radio
I recently had the privilege of presenting a run of programmes on Times Radio. During a getting-to-know-you chat with the Times at One’s producer the week before I started, we discussed a few…
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Stephen O'Rahilly @stephenorahilly.bsky.social · 21/01/2025
Honoured to be the inaugural deliverer of a lecture honouring these two great Cambridge neuroscientists
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Stephen O'Rahilly @stephenorahilly.bsky.social · 18/01/2025
We’ve known for decades that leptin provides a fat cell derived critical signal of nutritional sufficiency to enter puberty. Now we know that muscle mass signals to the central control pubertal onset via myostatin. To my mind this is the most convincing hormonal myokine to date.
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Stephen O'Rahilly @stephenorahilly.bsky.social · 18/01/2025
Muscle-derived myostatin is a major endocrine driver of follicle-stimulating hormone synthesis | Science science.org/doi/10.1126/sc…. Major advance in endocrinology. So fascinating that new important hormonal actions of TGFBeta family members are still being discovered.
science.org
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Stephen O'Rahilly @stephenorahilly.bsky.social · 10/01/2025
www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitne... The wonderful Keith Frayn. A voice of scientific rigour and sanity amid a world of "influencers" peddling nonsense
telegraph.co.uk
The scientist who believes he’s found the answer to permanent weight loss
Want to lose weight? Forget low-carb diets and intermittent fasting, says one eminent Oxford professor, it’s time to get back to basics
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Albert Koulman @koulman.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
For everyone in the Cambridge area interested in metabolomics or lipidomics: CaMeL talks, January 23rd. Please register on www.mrl.ims.cam.ac.uk/events/camel...
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Stephen O'Rahilly @stephenorahilly.bsky.social · 05/01/2025
Silence on cousin marriage is the unspeakable face of liberalism www.thetimes.com/article/723d.... As usual, Matthew Sayed is well worth a read.
thetimes.com
Silence on cousin marriage is the unspeakable face of liberalism
Time and again brave souls try to speak out against the dangerous and degenerate practice, and they are stopped
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Stephen O'Rahilly @stephenorahilly.bsky.social · 20/12/2024
A great example of how markets can be transiently insane. A key question relating to combining amylin with GLP1 analogues is whether the long term tolerability will be enhanced wrt Semaglutide or tirzepatide. It’s far too early to say
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Stephen O'Rahilly @stephenorahilly.bsky.social · 13/12/2024
www.thetimes.com/uk/healthcar... A courageous doctor who has been subject to vilification and threats because she gathered the best possible evidence, summarised it accurately, and made practical recommendations in a contentious area. Because that was what we, as a society, asked her to do.
thetimes.com
MPs wrong to claim puberty blockers ban is discrimination, Cass says
The author of a review on the treatment of children with gender dysphoria says the move is grounded in evidence and safety concerns
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Stephen O'Rahilly @stephenorahilly.bsky.social · 11/12/2024
www.bbc.com/news/article.... Good to see the Labour government making a difficult decision that prioritises the health and safety of children and emphasises that health policy must be based on scientific evidence and not ideology.
bbc.com
Puberty blockers: Indefinite ban to be introduced
Health Secretary Wes Streeting says the way the drugs have been used is a "scandal" following a review.
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